Chapter 681: A Love Story at the Great Astral Sect

The person who had appeared from behind the woman was a towering, burly man with muscles so defined they seemed to ripple with the force of hidden dragons beneath his sleeves. His muscles were visible even through the fabric.

As soon as he and Chu Liang locked eyes, they immediately began calling out to each other.

"Brother Chu?"

"Brother Yun?"

"Brother Chuuu!"

"Brother Yunnn!"

"Brother Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Brother Yunnnnnnnnnnnnnn..."

And so it went, their voices growing louder and more drawn out with each exchange.

"Alright, enough!" Lin Bei and the woman yelled at the same time.

"Brother Chu!" The burly man lunged forward, wrapping Chu Liang in a bear hug that pressed him tightly against his massive chest muscles. He locked his biceps and triceps around Chu LIang's neck as he exclaimed, "I knew you were still alive!"

"If you don't let go soon, I really might... might die..." Chu Liang wheezed.

He wriggled free from the hug, stumbling back and gasping for air. Once he caught his breath, he smiled and said, "It's really great to see you again!"

Chu Liang then led the group to his cabin, and they sat down outside.

Once everyone was settled, Chu Liang turned to Yun Chaoxian. "I haven't asked yet. Who is this young lady...?"

Yun Chaoxian grinned broadly and took the woman's hand.

"Tie Chui, of course. Haven't you met her before?" he said with a hearty laugh.

"Tie Chui from the South Melody Conservatory?" Chu Liang asked, studying the woman with her striking figure and heroic aura. Now that Yun Chaoxian mentioned, she did look somewhat similar to the Tie Chui he had met before.

"WAHAHAHAHA!" The woman burst into hearty laughter. "I've grown much more beautiful since then. It's no surprise he didn't recognize me."

Yup. This is definitely Tie Chui.

As soon as Chu Liang heard that laugh, he knew this was Tie Chui.

"I had heard that you two fell in love. But now that I am seeing it with my own eyes, it still feels magical," Chu Liang said with a smile.

"

Haaaaa

, it's life," Yun Chaoxian said with a sigh.

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't sound too happy about it," Tie Chui said, narrowing her eyes as she cast a glare over at Yun Chaoxian.

"No, no, not at all..." Yun Chaoxian quickly shook his head. "I meant... it's fate."

"Fate is truly a marvelous thing, beyond what words can describe. You and your fellow brothers are blessed to have good fates," Chu Liang remarked.

"If it weren't for you, we might not have ended up together so soon," Yun Chaoxian said, scratching his head with a sheepish chuckle.

"Oh?" Chu Liang waited for him to explain.

"We first met because of you, in the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams," Yun Chaoxian said. He continued, "After you disappeared, we split up and searched everywhere for you. Li Fujian said that he was terrible with directions and insisted that Miss Ji accompany him.

"Back then, we all laughed at how much of a fool he was..."

Yun Chaoxian paused there, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was not until three months later that they understood who the real fools were.

Yun Chaoxian had intended to keep searching for Chu Liang, scouring every possible place outside. But suddenly, a message from the sect arrived, summoning him back. If it had been something minor, he would have ignored it without hesitation. However, the news was about Li Fujian and Ji Lingyu's wedding...

The two had fallen for each other during their journey and decided to get married.

"Well then..." Chu Liang chuckled in surprise. "Who would've thought I'd be the greatest matchmaker in this story?"

"When there's a wedding within the sect, it's always a grand affair, inviting many disciples from the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten," Yun Chaoxian continued. "Tie Chui came as well. We already had a grudge against each other, so naturally, we started arguing the moment we crossed paths—even on the wedding day. But since it was a wedding day, we couldn't actually fight. So, we decided to settle things with a drinking contest instead.

"The next morning, when I woke up—"

Before Yun Chaoxian could finish, Tie Chui cut him off with a soft punch to his chest, her small fist landing with a solid boom!

After that, she covered her face with her hands and said, "Don't go into details. I'm shyyyyyyyyyyy!"

"Alright..." Yun Chaoxian muttered, wiping the blood off his chest and swallowing the rest of the sentence he hadn't managed to say. "After that, Tie Chui ran straight back to the South Melody Conservatory without saying a word. I went after her, but the people there told me she didn't want to see me. So, I waited outside her sect for several months...

"But then, she came out looking like this," Yun Chaoxian said as he gestured to Tie Chui beside him. "I was stunned. At that time, I said I am looking for Tie Chui. Who are you?"

Yun Chaoxian continued with a chuckle, "So it turned out that she had been secretly training to make her figure look better, but I almost didn't recognize her."

It was hard for cultivators to change their appearance. However, to make their figure look better and their skin fairer, and what not were rather easy. For Tie Chui to transform into Chuichui would take only a few adjustments.

"You did not recognize me. I had to beat you up for you to figure it out," Tie Chui said angrily

Chu Liang and Lin Bei exchanged glances and chuckled. "Haha."

What could they say about this love story?

"Maybe this is what people mean when they say you don't really know someone until after a fight," Chu Liang said with a grin.

"I actually preferred how she looked before, but she insists this is better," Yun Chaoxian said helplessly, shaking his head. "All delicate and soft... what kind of look is this—Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Bam!

Before Yun Chaoxian could finish speaking, he suddenly vanished from his seat.

"You dare say I'm not beautiful?!" Tie Chui growled, standing over him with her foot firmly planted on his chest.

"Beautiful! You're beautiful!" Yun Chaoxian hastily raised a hand in surrender.

...

Boom, boom, boom.

A series of explosions echoed across the dark mountain, accompanied by faint roars of an exotic beast. The roars rose sharply but faded almost as quickly as they came.

Dozens of sword lights streaked through the air, desperately fleeing, only to be halted by a fierce gust of wind that froze them in place.

One by one, the sword lights drifted downward, landing with soft thuds. Upon impact, they shattered like fragile hollow shells, crumbling into dust as if drained of all vitality.

That gust of wind seemed to have dried them out completely.

This place was known as Beast-Barring Mountain. During the War against the Demon God, the human army had subdued the vicious Taotie here. After their victory, they retreated a hundred li south, where they built a mighty fortress, which they called Taotie City.

For thousands of years, the subdued beast had been kept within Beast-Barring Mountain.

Every day, large quantities of demonic beast flesh were transported in because the beast's appetite was insatiable. It needed to eat constantly, yet it remained perpetually hungry. This was the nature of Taotie, one of the Four Great Vicious Beasts.

Bam!

The massive beast crashed hard against the mountain wall. It had four hooved legs like a goat, sharp tiger-like fangs, leathery wings, and a pair of curved horns. It had some facial features of a human and appeared extremely ferocious.

The Four Great Vicious Beasts had been born from the very essence of the Heavenly Dao. Since ancient times, Taotie had been the strongest among them. Its unquenchable hunger drove it to hunt constantly, making feeding its primary instinct.

For the past thousands of years, it had been fed by humans and no longer needed to fight. All it had to do was follow its instincts to eat each day. As long as it didn't leave Beast-Barring Mountain to cause trouble, fresh meat would continue to be delivered for it to consume.

It had grown noticeably fatter over the years.

It was no longer as ferocious and vicious as it once was. Now, facing a fight again, it felt a sense of unfamiliarity, especially since the two figures looming above were incredibly powerful.

"

RAAAAAAAR!!!

"

Taotie let out a deafening roar, shaking the forest as it spread its wings and launched one final charge.

Boom!

The fight went on just as expected. The man raised his hand and pointed at Taotie, sending a gust of Bifeng to strike it down. If Taotie hadn't had an extraordinary body, it would have been reduced to dust.

These two cold-hearted individuals were greater demons at the eighth realm!

Seeing that its roar had no effect, Taotie lowered its head in a show of submission, displaying a readiness to surrender.

"Want to become my mount?" Changfeng descended, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Too bad that you can't."

He placed one hand on top of Taotie's head.

Boom!

A sudden explosion echoed. From the outside, Taotie's massive body appeared unchanged. Inside, however, it had been completely hollowed out.

Something invisible seemed to scatter into the air. Caiyi raised her right hand and snatched something in the air. Then, she took out a small jar.

When she opened her right hand again, drops of what seemed like blood fell. As she let the blood drip into the jar, it emitted a restless and agitated sound.

The blood seemed to possess a spirit of its own.

"We're almost there," she said coldly. "All that's left is the Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn."

"Heheh," Changfeng chuckled. "That day is finally approaching!"